Airbnb Faces Off With New York Over Housing Rentals

The housing-rental site faced off in court Tuesday with the
New York attorney general's office, which is pressing Airbnb for the identities
of users it believes may be violating state housing laws.

Airbnb offers an online platform for people to rent out their homes or
apartments to travelers. The issue it's facing in New York is a law stating
that residents can't rent out properties for fewer than 30 days when they
aren't living there.

Airbnb
has argued that the law is meant to crack down on landlords who buy residential
buildings and run them as hotels, not on individual tenants. The company is
fighting the attorney general's request that it give up data on its hosts, calling
the subpoenaa "vast data demand
on regular New Yorkers."

The two sides are now awaiting a judge's decision on the
subpoena.

"Today, the Attorney General again made it clear that he
remains determined to comb through the personal information of thousands of
regular New Yorkers just trying to make ends meet," wrote David Hantman,
Airbnb's head of global public policy, in a blog post following Tuesday's
hearing.

But New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says as many as
two thirds of Airbnb rentals in New York City may be illegal.

"State
law protects the quality of life of building residents and the safety of
tourists," Schneiderman spokesman Matt Mittenthal said in an email.
"We strongly support innovation, but being innovative is not a defense to
breaking the law."